A matter-of-fact detective (De Niro) opens the
picture explaining that his job "aint nothin'" like
you might see on TV or the movies. Cut to Eddie
Murphy (playing a street cop/actor-wannebe)
articulating every cliché in the book during an
audition. A sparkling contrast for sure and one that
sets the stage for the unlikely pairing to come.

Grizzly droll De Niro shoots the tape out of news
reporters vidcam, but instead of suing, the station
forces him to partner with Murphy for a new (better
than "cops") reality series: "Showtime."

An interesting idea that indeed bares some very
funny fruits. But between the berries, there are
plenty of dry twigs. Rene Russo (series producer)
performs below average, as do most other minor
characters. Murphy performs average, and De Niro only
slightly above. Still, it's these two (plus a few
genuinely solid gags) that pull this film out of the
depths it digs for itself.

Other than some sticky, poorly acted and edited
sequences, "Showtime" becomes the silly "buddy cop"
film it so enjoys poking fun at. Which isn't
horrible, nor is it great. But it's the ending where
the film really kicks itself in the butt. Huge lapses
in logic make way for an awkwardly paced, bit of
nonsense with sparse action, (seemingly) with the
hopes that De Niro and Murphy will make it work.

The film may lose your respect much earlier on
when a scumbag bad guy opens fire with a machine gun
that shoots bullets the size of salt shakers but
fails to even wound two cops 10 feet in front of
him.

Still, De Niro and Murphy are never boring and
this rickety, messy film remains slightly amusing ...
so we'll give it a B.

My favorite part: A zealous cameraman runs after
the two cops in pursuit and flips over a fire
hydrant.

Oh ... and there's a fun cameo by William Shatner
ribbing his earlier TJ Hooker roll.